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With so much crime drama inexplicably taking place this past week in Columbia County, the Feb. 24 conviction and subsequent life sentence of Thomas Bradford for the murder of Raymond Lee might seem like ancient history.

Sure, there’s still a multi-million-dollar civil suit pending in the case. And no one would be surprised if appeals of Bradford’s murder conviction are forthcoming. But before the dust settles, there’s one nagging aspect of the case that shouldn’t escape comment.

Michael Starnes did it the right way. Monday morning, he saw a suspicious man walking around his neighbor’s home. Starnes got his gun, confronted the burglar and held him at gunpoint until Columbia County deputies arrived to make an arrest.

More good neighbors like Starnes would make the world a far safer place.

Thomas Bradford did it the wrong way. One man is dead as a result, and Bradford likely will spend the rest of his life in prison.

We’ve all heard this week about the five teens calling themselves the “Charlie Rape Gang.” Members of the “gang” briefly were suspended from Lakeside Middle School recently after complaints, and social media postings, that they had been corralling unsuspecting fellow students, holding them down and pretending to “rape” them.

One of the common excuses used by non-voters is that it isn’t convenient. Elections are held on Tuesdays, and work schedules get in the way.

The ability to vote by absentee long ago debunked that rationale. In addition, the state of Georgia in recent years further undermined that excuse by instituting early and advance voting days that stretched elections out for nearly a month before each election.

If a school principal had to give pupils a warning about their behavior prior to their bus leaving school, it’s probably a safe bet that those kids bear at least a little responsibility for that driver having to pull over and cool off during the ride home.

After that fateful ride last week, some Euchee Creek Ele-mentary parents complained about the driver’s behavior based on tales from their children. Some of that carries the self-serving whine of enabling.

This has been a frightening, devastating time for police officers in our community.

Richmond County Deputy J.D. Paugh was shot and killed last October. Aiken Public Safety Master Officer Scotty Richardson was killed in December. Then, just a few days ago, Aiken Master Cpl. Sandy Rogers was shot and killed.

Deaths of police officers in our community typically are rare. This tragic trio has made their jobs seem all the more dangerous.

There seems to be a lot of confusion over a state effort to rein in local governments attempting to establish broadband Internet service.

Republican State Sen. Chip Rogers, fueled by generous contributions from telecommunications companies, has filed a bill in the Georgia Legislature that, he claims, would protect private service providers from unfair competition by government-subsidized broadband systems.